The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program will temporarily become easier to access for teachers and other public servants, the Biden administration announced on Oct. 6. The federal Education Department estimates that more than 550,000 borrowers, in total, will move closer to forgiveness.

California will become the first state in the U.S. to require public and private school students receiving in-person instruction to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Oct. 1, once the FDA gives full approval for COVID vaccines for school-age children.

More than 323,000 borrowers with significant or permanent disabilities will be relieved of a total of about $5.8 billion in student debt beginning in September, the U.S. Education Department announced.

Five states with Republican governors that banned school districts from requiring masks are facing civil rights investigations opened Aug. 30 by the federal Education Department.

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress and widened learning gaps for students in grades 3-8 in math and reading during the 2020-2021 school year, according to national data released July 28 by the testing group NWEA.

Florida became the eighth state in the nation to ban transgender girls from participating in girls' sports in school when the state's Republican governor signed a bill into law at the start of LGBTQ Pride Month.